It is mentioned in Musnad Imam Ahmed, “That when the people enter his qabar (grave), if he is a Mu’min (believer), his prayer and his fasting surround him, and the angels come, and the salah pushes them away, and they come from another side, and the Siam pushes it away, and the hadith then goes on, and as for the Kafir, nothing can push the angels away.
So, the hadith goes on as a long hadith: What protects against the punishment of the grave? Salah and Siyam, but then we can extrapolate any good deed. Excellent point here.
Salah and Siyam
What protects from the punishment of Grave? Any good deed is explicit here; Salah and Siyam stand as protections. Salah and Siyam are the Arkans of Islam, and they include the Quran, dhikr, dua, and sajdah. All types of worship are included here, so we can say,
One of the ways to protect from punishment of the grave is to make sure we have lots of good deeds.
This is one of the ways to protect from punishment of the grave. Just like one of the ways to get into Adab Al-Qabar is every major sin, it makes complete sense and is complimentary here.
Right! Of the ways to protect from the punishment of the grave, this is really the way that we should start practicing specifically.
Memorizing and reciting frequently Surah Al-Mulk, Surah Mulk should be on our agenda, my brothers and sisters. Out of all the Surahs in the Quran, we should make it a point to memorize some of them, even if we don’t finish all of the Quran. By the way, all of us should have the intention to memorize the whole Quran.
Related Topic: Why Should You Recite Surah Mulk Every Night?
What’s wrong with having the intention? Just put it in your hearts and try. What’s wrong with that? I will give lectures about this, but I have memorized: Who became hufazh at the age of 65?
It’s possible—one ayah a day, two ayah a day—just put it in your heart. Whatever you memorize—and you should always try to memorize more—why stop at the 5–10 surahs?
What’s stopping you? Just every day, concentrate on one small surah, and one surah that should definitely be at the top of your list is Surah Mulk. It’s only 30 verses, my brothers and sisters; 30 verses, that’s all.
There are so many ahadith that mention the blessings of Surah Mulk. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said in an authentic hadith in Al-Hakim,
Surah Tabarak is the preventer from the punishment of the grave.
What more incentive do you need, brothers and sisters? If you haven’t memorized Surah Mulk, start memorizing it today, because it is the Surah that will prevent punishment at the grave.
And it’s an authentic hadith in a number of books, including Al-Tabarani and Al-Hakim, also Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, that there is one Surah in the Quran, and that’s only 30 verses. Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
And it made Shafa’ah stand in front of Allah Almighty until Allah forgave him.
It is Surah al-Mulk. It is very explicit, and it is Tirmidhi, and Ibn Masud said,
A person will be brought to his grave, and two men will come to him, and when they come to him, it will be said or a voice will be heard. You have no way to get to this man; he would recite Surah Mulk.
Two angles will come, meaning the angles of punishment will come, and a voice will say, meaning another voice and an angle will say, You have no way to get to this man; he’s protected, because he would stand, and he would recite Surah e Mulk.
Then they will try to come from his chest, and it will be said to him, Go away. Come to his face; it will be said to him, Go away. Come from his top, it will be said to him, Go away, and Ibn Masud said, He said the same thing as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, but he’s explaining it longer.
It is the Mani’ah, which means “preventer.” It will prevent the punishment of the grave. So this is Ibn Masud saying something elaborating on Surah Al-Mulk being a protection from punishment from the grave.
So, how does Surah Mulk prevent Adhab Al-Qabar? The one who frequently recites it, the one who memorizes it, the one who loves it, the one who recites it in Salah, the one who does so because this version says He would stand with Surah Al-Mulk in Salah, so not just reading it once or twice, but being frequent in its reading, being of those who are reported, even though some have said the hadith is Allah Almighty knows best.
Also Read: Learn What to Ask Allah Almighty?
If it is weak or not, once the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said, Those who recite Surah Mulk every night, there is a narration like this as well. He would recite Surah Al-Mulk every single night, but even if it’s not every night, these traditions mention protecting from punishment of the grave.
They simply make frequent references to Surah Mulk. So, this means Surah Mulk should be on your regular list, along with Iklas, Qul Hu Allahu Ahad, Falaq, Nas, and Surah Mulk as well. Even if you split it over 2/3/4 rakats or something or recite it every few days, it should be on your regular list of Surah e Mulk as well.